Category Archive Game Recap‘

Jerami Grant, SF32 MIN | 2-5 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 5 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +24 +/-Grant got the start last night and delivered a so-so offensive performance. That end result was especially odd to me given that he came out of the gates red hot and scored all 6 of his points in the opening minutes of the 1st Q. Howver his effort at the other end of the court was outstanding.

Nerlens Noel, C33 MIN | 5-8 FG | 4-7 FT | 15 REB | 2 AST | 4 STL | 4 BLK | 2 TO | 14 PTS | +22 +/-A jaw dropping double-double performance last night by Noel in which he was extremely aggressive on offense and displayed a nice ability to score with his left hand. “I’m just playing basketball,” he said. “My goal is to affect the game any way possible. I just keep it going and come in with that mindset.”

Ish Smith, PG27 MIN | 4-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | +21 +/-Obvioulsy only 2 assists is not a great stat from your starting PG. However, only 2 TOs is something to brag about. But this is really all the Sixers need from Smith down the stretch of Tank 2.0. Push the pace and play solid basketball. His defense needs serious work.

Ish Smith, PG30 MIN | 5-14 FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 7 TO | 13 PTS | +3 +/-Other than the 7 TOs and a 1:1 assist/TO ratio, I thought Smith played the solid game I asked for in my Fo’ with the Foes preview. If he can play like this every night, the Sixers will at least be tolerable to watch down the home stretch of this season.

Nerlens Noel, C22 MIN | 5-10 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 3 BLK | 1 TO | 11 PTS | +2 +/-With the hops and energy Noel diplayed early on, it’s a good thing for the Pistons that he got hurt and missed most of the 2nd half. Otherwise the Sixers may have won this game by 20. I felt like very time he came on the TV Noel was flushing a dunk or swatting a Detroit shot.

Ish Smith, PG26 MIN | 6-12 FG | 3-4 FT | 1 REB | 8 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 15 PTS | +10 +/-A near double-double from the journeyman was has supplanted Canaan (who the Sixers traded for by the way) as the starting PG. He pushed the pace last night on the tired Pistons and unleashed a couple of floaters that were amazing. 50% shooting from the field; 8 dimes; only 3 TOs and +10 rating! Too bad he isn’t 6’3 or taller.

Jason Richardson, SG25 MIN | 4-7 FG | 3-4 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 14 PTS | +1 +/-JRich struck back at Father Time last night with a much needed solid shooting effort. Previous to last night’s game, #23 was 6 for 37 from the field in his last 4 games and I had pretty much written him off for the season.

JaKarr Sampson, SG22 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 6 PTS | -6 +/-After 4 points in the the 1st half, I don’t have a single note on JaKarr for the rest of the game. I like Sampson’s long range potential, but his is not a starting NBA guard and why Brown insists on trotting him out with the first-five is beyond me.

Nerlens Noel, C34 MIN | 7-15 FG | 4-6 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 18 PTS | -15 +/-A much better effort this time from Noel in hometown of Boston. I like that he was extremely aggressive last night and took the ball to the tin, but his left hand finish still needs some work. His 6 points in the 1st Q was one of the few highlights for the Sixers. However he did NOT score another point in the 1st half.

Isaiah Canaan, PG28 MIN | 4-11 FG | 1-2 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 11 PTS | -8 +/-This PG experiment should officially come to a close when this season is over. While his stat line was respectable last night, Canaan owns a shoot first mentality, does not see the floor well and plays ole’ defense.

Robert Covington, SF29 MIN | 8-17 FG | 2-3 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 24 PTS | +3 +/-Welcome back Cov!! His hot shooting and 11 points in the 1st Q kept the Sixers from falling out of this game very early on. Then Cov posted another 9 points in the 2nd Q (3-3 from deep). Still, it seems Cov was one of the few players who did not benefit from Brown’s halftime speech as he went 1-5 from the field in the 2nd half.

Isaiah Canaan, PG23 MIN | 3-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 7 PTS | -4 +/-Priority #1 for Sam Hinkie is to find a PG and a backup PG for 2015-16 because the undersized Canaan who has totaled 5 dimes and 4 TOs in the last 2 games while shooting 32% from the field is not the answer. Still, his 5 points in the 3rd Q were huge last night, so he gets the C+ from me.

JaKarr Sampson, SG17 MIN | 4-6 FG | 2-3 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | -7 +/-Sampson was very active early on in this game and thrilled the crowd with a drive to the rim that ended with a thunderous flush. After 6 points in the 1st half, I thought he had finally found his stride again, but he went MIA in the 2nd half and I don’t have a single note on him from the 3rd/4th Qs.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, PF29 MIN | 5-10 FG | 1-2 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 4 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 14 PTS | -2 +/-After he posted 7 points in the opening minutes of the 1st Q I thought Luc was headed for a career night. Unfortunately he did not score another point before the half and was 1-4 shooting when the Sixers went ice cold in the 3rd Q.

Nerlens Noel, C37 MIN | 5-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 11 REB | 1 AST | 6 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | -9 +/-Noel is playing out of his mind right now and it is a joy to watch (more on this after the jump). When his footwork improves, he could be a very effective offensive weapon for this team.

Isaiah Canaan, PG28 MIN | 6-15 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 16 PTS | -3 +/-Canaan’s shooting stats were fine, but I need more than 4 dimes out of my starting point guard. He also has a significant amount of work to put in on his defensive fundamentals.

JaKarr Sampson, SG22 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | -10 +/-Another poor outing from Sampson. There was a stretch where I thought this kid was going to breakout and make a name for himself (in Philadunkia nation) and that momentum is now gone. Over his last 5 games Sampson is averaging 4.8 ppg. on 35% shooting and a 28% clip from three.

A double-double for Embiid’s sitter was blemished by 28% shooting from the field and 0-3 from deep. If Luc would pump the brakes on his shot selection, he would be much more effective offensive player for this team.

A solid night for #4, but after his 7-7 outing vs. Toronto I expected a little more on the offensive end. 5 blocks and 4 steals (strip of Westbrook at end of regulation was huge) were great, but he also posted 5 TOs last night.

We finally got to see the “bullseye shooter” version of Canaan that all the scouts have been talking about. He opened the game Canaan 5-of-5 on 3-pointers and drained 8 total on the day which produced a career high 31 points. Additionally Canaan had only 3 TOs.

Back in October if you had told me that JRich would play 36 minutes in a games this season for the Sixers, I would have bet any amount of money against that idea in a minute and laughed. If you next told me he would score 29 points in a game for the Sixers this season I would have checked you into a mental health facility.

There is nothing wrong with the way Sampson played last night. I just figured in an up and down, high scoring game that an athlete like Sampson would produce a better stat line. Of course that can be difficult when you only get 15 minutes of burn.

Jason Richardson, SG26 MIN | 4-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | +14 +/-The fact that he is on the court and contributing to this squad is amazing to me. His stroke was on last night and that opened up the floor for Noel. JRich dropped a beautiful dime to Noel in the late 4th Q that led to a big flush.

Robert Covington, SF34 MIN | 6-15 FG | 1-3 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 5 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 16 PTS | -4 +/-Cov recovered from a putrid start to this game (1-7 in 1st Q) to post a solid statistical night. However he was also MIA when the Heat put up their huge run in the 3rd Q and locked this game up.

Nerlens Noel, C31 MIN | 5-10 FG | 8-10 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 4 BLK | 0 TO | 18 PTS | 0 +/-I thought this was one of Noel’s best games to date. The fact that it came against Miami’s inside trio of Hassan Whiteside; “Birdman” and Haslem is a bonus (IMO). I will be interested to see what happens with Noel’s touches/numbers now that MCW is gone.

Tim Frazier, PG37 MIN | 0-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 8 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 0 PTS | +15 +/-Obviously Frazier needs some work on his shooting stroke, but I have to give the kid credit, with little to no practcie he has performed very well in his two games with the 76ers. Last night his ability to push the ball up the floor, get into the defense and then kick the ball out to the 3-point line to an open shooter was a thing of beauty to watch.